Since retiring from her role as president/CEO of Neiman Marcus Group nearly three years ago, Karen Katz hasn’t been lolling on a beach in the Caribbean. No, indeed. She’s been involved with Harvard University’s Executive Education Programs for Finance and Customer Service, chairing Street Trend and serving on the boards of publicly traded companies Under Armour, Humana and Casper.
Now comes word that the Dallas native has been elected to chair the Perot Museum of Nature And Science Board Of Directors for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
According to Perot Museum Eugene McDermott CEO Dr. Linda Silver, “Karen Katz is uniquely qualified to become our next chair, bringing a vast knowledge of the Dallas community, a long corporate history of success, and a thorough understanding of what it takes to move an organization forward in a sustainable and innovative way. We are delighted to have her guide our board of directors in the coming year.”
Joining Karen in the leadership of the board will be Chair-Elect David R. Corrigan, who has been associated with the museum for nearly 16 years.
Linda added, “As chair-elect, David Corrigan will continue to co-chair the Museum’s Visioning Committee with an eye toward long-term sustainability in an ever-changing downtown landscape. We are fortunate to have his expertise and leadership on the board for the next several years.”
Karen is succeeding outgoing Chair Mac McFarland, who among other things “oversaw a massive museum collection improvement and consolidation process that brought the Museum’s 150,000 item collection to a new, state-of-the-art facility, positioning the Museum for its next American Alliance of Museums (AAM) accreditation cycle” during his two-year tenure.
Linda pointed out that “As chair of the Perot Museum of Nature and Science and as an engineer, Mac McFarland tapped into his deep passion for informal STEM education to help us deliver on our mission in new and exciting ways. His thoughtful stewardship also help guide us through the COVID-19 pandemic, empowering us to remain a strong and vital institution. We are grateful for his leadership these past two plus years and thankful he will remain on the board to further our ambitious goals for the future.”
Making up the rest of the 2020-2021 board are Kelvin A. Baggett, Nancy K. Best, Sheila Davis Beuerlein, Yasmin Bhatia, Sam A. Bloom, William Lane Britain, Nancy Carlson, Marc Christensen, Kelly H. Compton, Andrew Gould, Joan Buchanan Hill, Ed.D., Forrest Hoglund, Walt Humann, John Jaggers, Maria-Cristina Jaramillo, Hagop Kozanian, Pamela Okada, M.D., Nancy Perot, Royce Ramey, Eric Reeves, Earl Simpkins, Nicole Small, Gail Copus Spann, Marlene Sughrue, Sharon E. Tindell, Daniel Tobey, Robert Vaughn, Bill Wade, Jacob Walter and Abby Williams.
* Photo provided by Perot Museum of Nature And Science